Neaman Practice pledges improvements after visit
Summary
During the visit, patients told us they were largely happy with the care they received at the practice and the way practice staff treated them.
However, patients also reported difficulties making appointments, and confusion about which services they could be and were referred to.
Many patients, particularly those with mobility problems, disliked being referred to the Homerton Hospital due to the travel involved.
Our authorised representatives found the practice website hard to navigate and contained contradictory information for patients, a particular concern as GP practices start to move some services online.
The visit was led by Healthwatch City of London associate board members Janet Porter and Stuart Mackenzie who are trained authorised Enter and View representatives.
'The top priority is probably an easy-to-navigate and functional website, and we were delighted to learn that redesign work is already underway,'
'However, we identified several other areas where improvements that would benefit both patients and staff could easily be made, and we look forward to working with the Neaman Practice to assist in achieving the objectives we set out.'
Stuart added that some other issues had come to light since the February visit.
'We hope that patients will engage with the Neaman Practice via Healthwatch City of London to ensure that progress continues to be made and that the local community is confident of receiving a best-in-class service.'
Eight recommendations to improve people experiences
- Recommendation 1 - Website needs a complete overhaul.
Practice response - We are planning to overhaul our website in April 2019. - Recommendation 2 - Second-floor waiting room needs improvement.
Practice response - We have added soft cushion chairs in the waiting area on the second floor. - Recommendation 3- Ground floor needs reorganisation to create more space around the reception desk. Improve privacy by separating reception and phone duties.
Practice response - We are consulting with our staff and our patients in the next coming weeks to decide how we can reorganize the structure of the area. - Recommendation 4 - The complaints leaflet needs to be readily available.
Practice response - Complaints leaflet will be uploaded on the website and made available on all floors of the waiting area and on request. - Recommendation 5 - Display names and photographs of all doctors, nurses, and staff.
Practice response - The practice is in current discussion with staff on how to best display our names and job titles for patient information. - Recommendation 6- Increased use of texts to communicate important service announcements.
Practice response- We will continue to send text messages to patients and promote our services on a regular basis. - Recommendation 7 - There should be clarity about where patients can be, and are, referred to.
Practice response - We will make it clear when referring, what organisations are available to the patients for that specific service. - Recommendation 8 - Regular Healthwatch comment collecting at the practice to continue working together to improve services for better patient outcomes.
Practice response - Healthwatch and the Neaman Practice to continue working together to improve services for better patient outcomes.
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